Belle Harbor, Queens: The Good, the Bad and the Beach

The main attraction, and the main source of concern since Hurricane Sandy last year, is the waterfront, which flanks Belle Harbor on two sides. Credit
Sasha Maslov for The New York Times

Normalcy seemed to reign in Belle Harbor during a recent patch of hot, steamy weather. Children rode bikes and played ball on quiet streets. Residents, carrying folding chairs and towels, headed out to swim at the public beach, which runs the length of the neighborhood.

But the serenity was moderated somewhat by the buzz of rebuilding that persists in Belle Harbor, which was hard hit by Hurricane Sandy last year. Nearly nine months after the storm, crews were hammering away at houses, landscapers were coaxing gardens back to life and Dumpsters remained parked on streets for material still being cleared from homes.

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164 Beach 138th Street A five-bedroom five bath contemporary with ocean views, listed at $1.6 million. (718) 945-8872Credit
Sasha Maslov for The New York Times

Beachfront properties were destroyed and houses flooded, either to basement level or higher, residents said. Homes on Beach 130th Street were destroyed by a fire that broke out after the storm.

Market activity since Sandy reflects the gap between the appeal of a seaside enclave and anxiety about its vulnerability, on a strip of land between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic. On the one hand, brokers report interest, as people want to live near the beach. “We’re selling everything we get right now,” said Lisa Jackson, who owns Rockaway Properties, adding that her agency had closed on 19 houses since January. On the other, some shoppers seeking a piece of paradise worry that the cost of flood insurance will rise once the Federal Emergency Management Agency completes a review based on surveys done after Sandy, a process that officials say could take a couple of years.

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518 Beach 140th Street A legal two-family with four bedrooms, four baths and bay views, listed at $780,000. (718) 474-1414Credit
Sasha Maslov for The New York Times

Dan Repetti, a salesman for a school photography firm who lives in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn, wants to buy in Belle Harbor despite cost concerns. “It’s beautiful,” said Mr. Repetti, who recently married. “Once you pass over the Marine Parkway bridge, it’s a whole new world.” Yet he acknowledged that a sharp increase in insurance costs could strain his finances and make it hard ever to sell the property.

Ms. Jackson says many homes in the area already cost their owners $458 a year in flood insurance. If FEMA deems these properties at even higher risk, she added, annual costs could rise into the thousands.

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Beach 140th Street A four-bedroom two-bath colonial with a large backyard, listed at $699,000. (917) 623-8985Credit
Sasha Maslov for The New York Times

But Mr. Repetti noted that with agencies expanding flood zones to include areas like Bergen Beach — opening them up to the possibility of high premiums — he might as well buy in Belle Harbor, where he always wanted to settle. He hopes to find the right property by the end of the year.

The area, which covers a little more than a square mile, offers obvious charms. Streets are tree-lined, and many houses have wraparound porches adorned with flowers. Neighbors know one another, and the beach is at most a few blocks away.

Brokers say buyers’ desire to live here often outweighs fear. “Some people are scared but people still want to be here,” Ms. Jackson said. “It doesn’t feel like you are in the city. It’s our own little world, very quiet, very peaceful.”

Robin Shapiro of Robin Shapiro Realty, who lives nearby in Neponsit, said the market was even active right after the storm, with demand for rentals among displaced residents. “If you are afraid,” she said, “this isn’t the place for you.” What she points out to clients is the proximity of this beach community to Manhattan. “That’s what it’s all about.”

What You’ll Find

According to the 2010 census, the two tracts that cover Belle Harbor have about 7,000 residents, 92 percent white, 5 percent Hispanic, and the rest Asian and African-American. The housing stock is mostly single-family homes in a variety of styles — a beachfront contemporary, an 80-year-old shingled colonial, a brick Tudor or a showy large house recently built on a tear-down lot.

Ms. Shapiro says about 40 houses are currently for sale. Most are being sold by older residents, who did not want to face the expense and inconvenience of repairs, or whose children convinced them that Sandy necessitated a move to higher ground.

Some have been repaired and retrofitted with new boilers and heating systems; others are being sold as is.

What You’ll Pay

Prices have fallen since Sandy. Brokers estimate that they are 10 to 30 percent lower than before the storm. Just how much a property is discounted depends on different factors; discounts are not as steep on repaired houses.

Also, some sales have been in cash, because banks will not approve mortgages on homes whose kitchens are not fully functioning or whose walls are not finished. Ms. Jackson says some buyers, seeking such a property so they can redo it to their taste, receive a larger discount because they are paying in cash. Four of the 19 sales her agency completed this year were for cash, she said.

Current listings range from a large beachfront property listed at $1.9 million to smaller homes on the bayside that sell for $550,000 to $650,000.

“Higher-end houses are having a harder time finding their value,” Ms. Shapiro said. “People looking for a bargain don’t want to pay in the $800,000s, and people who own those houses don’t want to go down too low. They can’t come down too much because these houses have value.”

She illustrated her point by telling the real estate tale of a home on the beach block of Beach 141st Street. Before Sandy, it was listed at $1.05 million. Then its owners dropped the price to $999,000. Today it is listed at $899,000. Buyers are looking to knock that down to $800,000, which owners are not ready to accept.

But as for homes in the $500,000-to-$600,000 range, they are “going like hot cakes,” Ms. Shapiro added.

What to Do

The beach defines the neighborhood, which has plenty of swimmers, fishers, walkers and joggers. During the summer months, rules that prohibit street parking on weekend days guarantee residents the beach almost entirely to themselves. Beach 129th has a charming shopping district; nonchain shops include a pharmacy, a grocery, a bakery, a barber and a dry cleaner.

The Commute

Commuters have different options, but they all take time. The Transit Authority recently restored A train service to the Beach 116th Street/Rockaway Park station, the subway stop closest to Belle Harbor. From there, a trip to 42nd Street in Manhattan takes about 90 minutes. Some residents drive to the B and Q subway stop in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, which takes about 15 minutes; they park in a municipal lot and take the train, shaving about half an hour from the trip to Midtown. Also, there is the ferry service added after the storm knocked out the subway. It is available at least through the end of the summer. The trip to Wall Street from the Beach 108th Street ferry terminal takes 50 minutes and costs $2 one way. The QM16 express bus to Midtown is yet another option.

The Schools

The Belle Harbor School, Public School/Middle School 114, teaching through Grade 8, has about 770 students; it is in the center of the neighborhood. According to the Department of Education’s most recent progress report, 81 percent of tested students reached or exceeded proficiency on state tests in English, 83 percent in math, versus 47 and 60 percent citywide. The public Scholars’ Academy, in Rockaway Park on Beach 104th Street, starts at sixth grade and has 1,140 students. SAT averages last year were 504 in reading, 541 in math and 500 in writing, versus 496, 514 and 488 citywide. Another option is the school at St. Frances de Sales Church in Belle Harbor, which teaches through Grade 8.

The History

Belle Harbor was developed as a residential area in 1907 by the West Rockaway Land Company, according to the Encyclopedia of New York. The company divided the land into lots for single-family houses, and installed sewers and sidewalks. It also sold land to the Belle Harbor Yacht Club, which today has an imposing white building overlooking Jamaica Bay at Beach 126th Street.

The superstorm is not the only tragedy to have befallen the area. In November 2001, just two months after the 9/11 attacks, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed there, killing all 260 people on board and 5 on the ground.

A version of this article appears in print on July 21, 2013, on Page RE7 of the New York edition with the headline: The Good, the Bad and the Beach. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe